Two weeks ago I had the honor to be invited by perfume creator Dr Hany Harras at Le Maître des Parfumes in Sharjah to make my very own perfume. A very exciting and instructive day that I'm very grateful to have experienced.

To create a perfume is much more complicated than I thought. First I was asked to smell at almost one hundred of small bottles that was divided into different "families" like: Earth, wood, green, berries, citrus, ocean etc and then choose my favorites. That wasn't easy because sometimes I didn't know if it was the actual scent I liked or the memory I have connected to it. Perfume is all about senses, memories and feelings.

After I picked my favorites Dr Hany Harras tells me that he can read a persons personality by their perfume and when he reads from his notes it's almost a perfect prescription of me. I'm very impressed!

Then Dr Harras ask me to rank the bottles I choose 1-3 or 1-5 . This determines how much of every scent is going to be used in the finished perfume.

A perfume is divided in three different "levels" called top note, middle note and base note.

Top note: The scents that are perceived immediately on application of a perfume. Top notes consist of small, light molecules that evaporate quickly. They form a person's initial impression of a perfume and thus are very important in the selling of a perfume. Also called the head notes.

Middle notes: The scent of a perfume that emerges just prior to when the top notes dissipate. The middle note compounds form the "heart" or main body of a perfume and act to mask the often unpleasant initial impression of base notes, which become more pleasant with time. They are also called the heart notes.

Base notes: The scent of a perfume that appears close to the departure of the middle notes. The base and middle notes together are the main theme of a perfume. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume. Compounds of this class of scents are typically rich and "deep" and are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after application.

When my three "notes" were finished the are mixed to a first sample to try and then decide if you want to make any adjustments. I increased my top note and decreased the base note. After that the scent is mixed with alcohol and the perfume is finished! My very own perfume based on good memories and experiences through life!

My fragrance is colored by my living next to the sea, my love for food and strong memories of different scents from my childhood. Everything in a little bottle! Amazing!

This is something I think everyone should get the chance to experience and if you are in the UAE and want to make your very own perfume you can contact Dr Hany Harras at: harrassm@gega.net.

I promise it's a memory for life!

You can also check out more about Dr Hany Harras Perfume creating on Facebook.

Thank you so much Dr Hany Harras for a wonderful day and a fantastic experience!